Transfusion-transmitted HTLV-I/II infection in patients undergoing open-heart surgery.
Sera from 5,244 blood donations collected between 1979 and 1987 were screened for antibody to HTLV-I with an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) whose result was confirmed with a two-step procedure including Western blot (WB) and radio immunoprecipitation. Of 20 repeatedly reactive samples, two were confirmed positive for HTLV-I infection. These blood units were transfused to patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Both recipients of the confirmed anti-HTLV-I positive units were infected with HTLV-I as evidenced by antibody seroconversion. In contrast, six recipients of EIA positive, WB indeterminate blood and nine recipients WB negative blood were not infected with HTLV-I. These results confirm a low prevalence of HTLV-I infection in US blood donors, the capacity of infected units to transmit the virus to recipients, and the importance of an appropriate confirmatory assay.
Shih
J W
JW
Department of Transfusion Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Lee
H H
HH
Falchek
M
M
Canavaggio
M
M
Jett
B W
BW
Allain
J P
JP
Alter
H J
HJ
D001782:Blood Donors; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies